How to Install a Backsplash
There are many ways to build a backsplash behind your kitchen or bathroom sink, including one-piece units and assembled tiles. Tiling a backsplash yourself gives you the most flexibility in how you want it to look. It can also be the easiest method, depending on how you go about the procedure. To keep it simple, use bull-nose tiles to border the backsplash, and make it in a dimension that won't require any cuts. Start with a solid, clean wall. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Carpentry square
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Tile adhesive
- Notched adhesive trowel
- Bull-nose tiles (finished along one side)
- Regular wall tiles
- 1/8-inch spacers
- Grout
- Grout float
- Sponge
- Caulk
Instructions
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1
Use your tape measure, square and pencil to mark out the dimensions of your backsplash. Make the area big enough to encompass all full tiles, so you don't have to make cuts. Remember to add an extra 1/8 inch to the width and height of each tile as you're laying out the dimensions to account for the grout lines.
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2
Spread tile adhesive over the marked-out areas with a notched adhesive trowel.
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3
Set the bottom row of regular tiles in place, starting and ending with bull-nose tiles, with regular tiles between them. Set the bull-nose tiles so the finished edges face out to the sides on the two vertical lines. Put spacers between and below all the tiles to separate them from the countertop.
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4
Set up the next row in the same fashion, starting with a bull-nose tile, setting the regular tiles next to it and then ending with another bull-nose tile.
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5
Repeat for each row, building up the wall. For the top row, start and end with corner bull-nose tiles (finished on two adjacent sides), and use regular-bull nose tiles along the top span, with the finished edges facing up.
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6
Let the tiles set for day. Remove the spacers.
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7
Grout the backsplash with grout float, pressing the grout into the lines. Don't grout the space between the bottom row of tiles and the countertop. Remove the residual grout with a damp sponge.
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8
Allow the grout to set for 48 hours. Run a bead of caulk in the space between the bottom row of tiles and the countertop.
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